Dec. 19, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
TIGERS HOST NO. 11/11 SYRACUSE IN A TOP-25 MATCH-UP AT FEDEXFORUM ON SATURDAY
The University of Memphis squad (6-2, 0-0 C-USA), ranked No. 23 in the Associated Press poll and No. 21 in ESPN/USA Today poll, continues its seven-game homestand at FedExForum on Saturday, Dec. 20 when it hosts No. 11/11 Syracuse (10-1, 0-0 Big East). Game time is 5 p.m. (CT), and ESPN is slated to televise the contest.
The Tigers' homestand continues over the Christmas and New Year holidays with games against Drexel Dec. 22, Cincinnati Dec. 29, Northeastern Dec. 31, Lamar Jan. 3 and Marshall Jan. 7. Memphis opened this seven-game homestand Dec. 17 with a 59-51 victory over Arkansas-Little Rock. The Tigers' next road game is Jan. 10 at UCF in Orlando, Fla.
Prior to its Dec. 17 victory over Arkansas-Little Rock, Memphis dropped its road opener of the 2008-09 campaign with a 79-70 overtime setback at No. 19/19 Georgetown Dec. 13. The loss ended the Tigers' 19-game road win streak that stretched back to the middle of the 2006-07 season. Before the Georgetown loss, the Tigers were off 10 days for fall semester final exams.
Syracuse brings a 10-1 record into Saturday's top-25 match-up at FedExForum. The Orange won nine straight to open the 2008-09 season, including victories over Florida (89-83) and Kansas (89-81, ot) to take the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic championship. Syracuse's lone setback was a 72-69 home loss to Cleveland State on Dec. 15. The Orange lost the contest when the Vikings hit a 60-foot desperation shot at the final buzzer.
SCOUTING THE ORANGE
Syracuse brings a 10-1 record into Saturday's top-25 match-up at FedExForum. The Orange won nine straight to open the 2008-09 season, including victories over Florida (89-83) and Kansas (89-81, ot) to take the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic championship. Syracuse's lone setback was a 72-69 home loss to Cleveland State on Dec. 15. The Orange lost the contest when the Vikings hit a 60-foot desperation shot at the final buzzer.
Sophomore guard Jonny Flynn leads four players averaging double figures at 17.5 ppg. Eric Devendorf (13.9 ppg), Paul Harris (13.4 ppg) and Arinze Onuaku (13.0 ppg) also average double digits in the scoring column. Harris leads the Orange on the glass with an 8.9 rebounding average, while Onuaku is second at 7.6 rpg. Flynn is tops on the squad with 53 assists (4.8 apg) and 20 steals.
The Orange are shooting 50.2 percent from the field, 30.3 percent from the arc and 67.1 percent from the charity stripe. Syracuse is out-rebounding its opponents by an average margin of +5.9 boards per game (40.9-35.0).
TIGERS TAKING OVER ESPN
Maybe for Saturday afternoon, ESPN should change their call letters to TSPN -- Tiger Sports Programming Network. Memphis sports will be featured on both ESPN and ESPN2 Saturday afternoon, beginning at 3:30 p.m. (CT).
The Tiger football team starts the afternoon with its appearance in the St. Petersburg Bowl against Big East opponent South Florida. Game time is 3:30 p.m. (CT) on ESPN2. Then, Memphis basketball will be on ESPN at 5 p.m. (CT) when it hosts Big East foe Syracuse at FedExForum.
BATTLE OF WINNINGEST PROGRAMS IN THIS DECADE ON SATURDAY
Saturday's encounter between Memphis and Syracuse pits two of the winningest basketball programs since the 2000-01 campaign (see box on page 9). The Tigers are the fifth-winningest program since 2000-01 -- the year John Calipari arrived in the Bluff City -- with 240 victories. The Orange are tied for the No. 8 spot on that list with 232 wins.
THERE'S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
For the first time in the short Memphis-Syracuse series, a home contest will be played when the Tigers host the Orange at FedExForum Saturday. The previous encounters between the two storied programs took place on a neutral court at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. Both contests were part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.
Next season (2009-10), the Tigers will make their first trip to Syracuse to play the Orange in the Carrier Dome.
TIGERS' MEMORABLE WIN OVER THE ORANGE
In a game that many national basketball pundits gave Memphis little chance to win, the Tigers rode the shooting of freshman Jeremy Hunt to a 70-63 upset victory over Syracuse in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden. It was the season opener for both teams.
Hunt finished with 19 points to lead Memphis. Matching Hunt point-for-point was Orange phemon Carmelo Anthony, who scored a game-high 27 points.
John Grice added 17 for Memphis, while Rodney Carney, another Tiger freshman, had 12 points, nine boards (team high) and five assists. Anthony tied for Syracuse rebounding honors with Hakim Warrick with 11 boards each. Warrick now plays for the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies.
Memphis and Syracuse went on to have outstanding seasons, as both earned NCAA Tournament bids. The Orange won the NCAA title that season.
CALIPARI'S MEMORABLE WIN OVER THE ORANGE
John Calipari's first NCAA Tournament team and 30-win season at UMass came in the 1991-92 campaign, and it was a memorable year for the Minutemen. The season was extended another weekend in March with some late-game heroics and a victory in the NCAA second round over Syracuse.
Calipari led UMass to its first Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles, and the Minutemen earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. After a first round win over Fordham in Worcester, Mass., Calipari and UMass faced the No. 6 seed Orange in the second round.
The contest went into overtime, and the contest remained in the balance late in the extra session when UMass' Harper Williams threw up a three-point prayer with the shot clock running down. Harper's trey gave the Minutemen the lead for good en route to the 77-71 victory that propelled UMass to the Sweet 16 the following week.
MEMPHIS VS. THE BIG EAST
The Tigers are 125-137 all-time versus current members of the Big East Conference. Memphis has played Cincinnati (30-36), Connecticut (1-0), DePaul (14-12), Georgetown (2-7), Louisville (34-51), Marquette (14-12), Pittsburgh (1-1), Providence (2-3), St. John's (0-1), Seton Hall (3-1), Syracuse (1-1), USF (18-3), Villanova (4-8) and West Virginia (1-1).
Memphis has played 14 of the 16 Big East schools, leaving Notre Dame and Rutgers as the only two the Tigers have not faced. Most of the contests versus Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette and USF were league games (Missouri Valley, Metro, Great Midwest, Conference USA).
Since the start of the 2005-06 campaign (when the Big East realigned), Memphis is 7-1 against teams from the Big East. Earlier this year, the Tigers defeated Seton Hall 84-70 in the semifinals of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off on Nov. 21, but lost at Georgetown 79-70 in overtime on Dec. 13. Last year, Memphis posted victories over Big East foes Connecticut, Georgetown and Cincinnati.
Syracuse is the third of four Big East foes for Memphis in 2008-09. The Tigers already played Seton Hall Nov. 21 and Georgetown Dec. 13 and hosts Cincinnati Dec. 29 at FedExForum.
CALIPARI VS. THE BIG EAST
Memphis head coach John Calipari has an all-time record of 59-32 (.648 winning percentage) against current members of the Big East Conference. Calipari has coached against Cincinnati (4-7), Connecticut (1-2), DePaul (4-2), Georgetown (2-1), Louisville (6-5), Marquette (3-1), Pittsburgh (2-1), Providence (1-1), Rutgers (11-4), Seton Hall (1-0), Syracuse (3-1), USF (9-1), Villanova (2-0) and West Virginia (10-6).
TIGER SUCCESS AT FEDEXFORUM
After a rough first year at their new home in 2004-05, the Tigers have bounced back quite nicely and made FedExForum one of the toughest arenas for opponents to play in. Since the 2005 Conference USA Tournament, Memphis has won 68 of its last 71 home games (.958 winning percentage).
Overall, the Tigers have a 78-9 record (.897 winning percentage) at FedExForum. Memphis had a perfect 19-0 home mark in 2006-07, and was 20-1 at FedExForum in 2007-08.
DECEMBER GOOD TO TIGERS UNDER CALIPARI
Under head coach John Calipari, the Tigers have a 41-15 record (.732 winning percentage) when playing in the month of December. Memphis was 5-0 last December and has won 20 of its last 23 December contests, dating back to the 2004-05 season.
THREES HARD TO COME BY ON SATURDAY
If fans enjoy seeing teams hit the treys, then Saturday may be hard to watch. Memphis and Syracuse both defend the arc well, and also don't shoot a high percentage from the three-point line.
The Tigers shoot only 27.3 percent from the arc, and hold their opponents to 29.3 percent from the perimeter. On the other side, the Orange shoot 30.3 percent from the three-point line and hold their foes to 28.3 percent from the arc.
If Syracuse has an advantage, it will be in its overall shooting percentage. The Orange shoot 50.2 percent from the field, while Memphis hits 42.1 percent from the floor.
MAKE ROOM FOR TWO MORE SOON
The Memphis 1,000-point is already 43 players strong, but soon, two more Tigers will join that elite group. Seniors Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier are closing in on that milestone and will hit the mark some time in 2007-08. Anderson now has 962 points, while Dozier has 997 points.
DOZIER LOOKS TO JOIN ELITE GROUP
Robert Dozier needs only three points to join the Tiger 1,000-point club. When he does, he will become the 44th player in Memphis history to the accomplish the feat. The 6-foot-9 forward is also closing in on another Tiger elite group. With 11 more boards, Dozier will be a member of the Tiger 1,000-point, 750-board club, and will be the seventh player in Memphis history to do so. The following shows that group:
Player Points Rebounds
Keith Lee 2,408 1,336
Forest Arnold 1,854 1,109
Kelly Wise 1,487 1,075
Ronnie Robinson 1,150 1,066
David Vaughn 1,305 903
Don Holcomb 1,118 870
Robert Dozier 997 739
For more notes on the Memphis-Syracuse match-up, click on pdf link at the top of the page.
